Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sold Germany out because he was bribed by the Russians to favor Gasprom. I do not know how much Russian energy money has had to do with Germany's decision to stand down all its nuclear energy facilities rendering Germany even more dependent on Gasprom.
One has to stand back from a history of Europe which sees the continent from the perspective of Great Britain and review that history with the understanding that Germany is the fulcrum.
All of the baleful consequences predicted by Buchanan from Corker's bill are far more likely to come to pass because Germany is ambivalent about its relationship to Russia. It is more than just mere dependency on Russian energy, Germany has long repressed ambitions to play an important role in the world and they can do that cheaply by changing their status from an American vassal to the decisive swing power between Russia and the West.
On the other hand, if Germany is prudent enough to hold fast to the Western alliance, the capacity of the West to affect Russian policy is immensely increased and means that the world becomes more stable.
Obama has poisoned relations with Germany just as he has with every other ally. The revelations of spying on Chancellor Merkel have really affected that relationship and it is felt not just in the chancellery's of Berlin but at every Stammtisch in the nation. So long as Obama remains in power, American policy will not be clear, our chances of a reapproached with our allies are nil, and the chances of war are greater than one might think.
Obama's policies of dither and drift are really policies of undermining America but, whatever the motivation, he is systematically accelerating the decline and fall of America.
